Calne vs Colerne

Recap

Calne Rugby (sponsored by Bevirs Solicitors) took on Colerne RFC at the Calne Recreation ground looking to bounce back after last weeks disappointing away defeat and get their league campaign back on track.

From the kickoff Calne attacked with purpose as they looked for an early score. Calne were dominant in the scrums and lineout’s and scrum half Matt Kelly linked well with Brian Hopkins to mount relentless attacks on a stubborn Colerne defence. Centres Adam Young and Marcus Turner were solid in defence and creative in attack as the home side exerted all the early pressure.

However, it was from a scrum that the first try was to be scored. Colerne lost the ball on their put in and number 8 Alan Wicks dived over the line. The visitors attacked from the restart but Calne’s defence stood strong with great tackles from Mark Webber, Keith Bradley and Chris McAlonan. With the Colerne attacks repelled, the ball was driven down the pitch by Rhys Taylor and Adam Young before a ruck was formed just inside the Colerne twenty-two. Matt Kelly then picked up from the ruck, showed a dummy before running into the space created, to score, which Taylor converted.

In the second half, Colerne spirited forwards started on the front foot and registered their first and only try of the game, which was confidently converted.

This seemed to spur on the home side as Brian Hopkins, Chris McAlonan, Matt Johnston and Pete Brownlie built the platform to unleash the backs. This pressure would soon pay off as Calne crossed the whitewash yet again as the ever reliable Dave Evans scored a try from a rolling maul. Winger Jamie Palmer put in another impressive performance and out sprinted his opposite number before crashing over for another score. The final try was the best of the afternoon as Calne’s backs ran a fantastic move which saw them work the ball from their own twenty-two to the Colerne try line. Webber, Hopkins, Taylor and substitute Jay Wakin combined brilliantly to set up Adam Young for a well deserved try.

Player/Coach Alan Wicks was delighted with the performance which saw Calne record a 43-7 win. “Some of the back play was tremendous! The best I have seen for a few years.

Captain Tom Morten who was serving a suspension was equally pleased and said ” After the cup win, we lost a bit of focus but lets hope we can now build on this.

Chairman Chris Austin commented “This was a good result against a very capable side in Colerne. This league is very competitive and many teams are much stronger at home, it should be an interesting second half of the season.